College Program Parents Thread...

....my DS informed me that he was given a grape soda award last week....I'm guessing that is a GOOD thing...
 
My kid is having a rough time, roommate issues, unkind non-CP co-workers and very little downtime. She's just miserable and wants to come home. It may feel like an eternity to a 20 year old but there's only a couple of months left and sometimes you have to tough it out in life, still sucks to know your kiddo is having a bad experience with something she was really looking forward to.
 
My kid is having a rough time, roommate issues, unkind non-CP co-workers and very little downtime. She's just miserable and wants to come home. It may feel like an eternity to a 20 year old but there's only a couple of months left and sometimes you have to tough it out in life, still sucks to know your kiddo is having a bad experience with something she was really looking forward to.
....oh my....that's too bad....<<hugs>>to your DD....my DS is experiencing just the opposite....I don't think he's coming back!
 




Sadly, there are a lot of CPs that have these issues. I had thought that my dd's program was basically a good one. But, come to find out, she had her issues on the job. She had major roommate issues, that we knew about. And yes, there are two sides to every story. I'm sure she wasn't 'blameless'! But she had leaders that yelled at her, made her cry. She dreaded going to work many times. I only heard about these instances when I was asking her about someone else's program experiences. She is now a ft CM. Here's one of the issues the ft/pt CMs have, and it's not the CP's fault.....Disney prefers to overuse the CPs. They don't have to worry about benefits for them. They generally get more hours than CMs. Many pt CMs have tried to pick up shifts, since they get so few hours. But it's near impossible nowadays. My dd sometimes gets only 30 hrs! And she's ft!!! Hard to make ends meet on those hours!!! Again, this in no fault of the CPs...Disney is completely to blame. So you have overworked and exhausted CPs, working alongside ft CMs, who's hours are getting cut back. Can you see the issues? Stupid Disney allows this to happen.
My dd's best friends are those she met on the job!!! She loves her job now, and is enjoying working with most of the CPs there. She tries to remember what it was like to be a CP! Even now, living with 3 other girls for the past year, she is having roommie issues!!!! And she knew these girls before moving in!!!
 
Hi, I'm new here. My daughter was just accepted into the Academic Exchange Program at Disney and will be a Character Attendant. She will head to Gainesville Florida in late Junel, spending some time at the University of Florida before the group moves to WDW. Her program finishes just before Christmas. We are Canadian, and want to visit her (well, as much as her schedule will allow) while she is there. As we have done Disney many times, and I have an ankle that is being challenging, we are unlikely to spend much, if any, time in the parks. Suggestions for a resort that might fit the bill for a poolside vacation? I know our daughter can't access discounts until after Traditions, but I may just make a reservation now anyways. Love to hear any advice you can offer!
 
Hi, I'm new here. My daughter was just accepted into the Academic Exchange Program at Disney and will be a Character Attendant. She will head to Gainesville Florida in late Junel, spending some time at the University of Florida before the group moves to WDW. Her program finishes just before Christmas. We are Canadian, and want to visit her (well, as much as her schedule will allow) while she is there. As we have done Disney many times, and I have an ankle that is being challenging, we are unlikely to spend much, if any, time in the parks. Suggestions for a resort that might fit the bill for a poolside vacation? I know our daughter can't access discounts until after Traditions, but I may just make a reservation now anyways. Love to hear any advice you can offer!
Congratulations to you and your dd. What kind of resort are you looking for? What level? I really like Port Orleans Riverside. There is one main pool, plus about 5 or 6 others spread out throughout the resort. There is a nice food court as well as a table service restaurant. It's a moderate resort so right in the middle cost wise.
If you prefer a value resort, I would suggest Pop. The rooms have been redone and it's a fun resort.
Wilderness Lodge is a beautiful resort, as is Animal Kingdom Resort...they are in between the moderate resorts and deluxe resorts, cost wise. Love them both.
 
Congratulations to you and your dd. What kind of resort are you looking for? What level? I really like Port Orleans Riverside. There is one main pool, plus about 5 or 6 others spread out throughout the resort. There is a nice food court as well as a table service restaurant. It's a moderate resort so right in the middle cost wise.
If you prefer a value resort, I would suggest Pop. The rooms have been redone and it's a fun resort.
Wilderness Lodge is a beautiful resort, as is Animal Kingdom Resort...they are in between the moderate resorts and deluxe resorts, cost wise. Love them both.

I'm not really too worried about price level at this point. I have stayed at POR twice, and I do love it. I've also stayed at AKL, and equally loved it, but for different reasons. I was just wondering about others' opinions regarding quiet choices. Thanks so much!
 
Sadly, there are a lot of CPs that have these issues. I had thought that my dd's program was basically a good one. But, come to find out, she had her issues on the job. She had major roommate issues, that we knew about. And yes, there are two sides to every story. I'm sure she wasn't 'blameless'! But she had leaders that yelled at her, made her cry. She dreaded going to work many times. I only heard about these instances when I was asking her about someone else's program experiences. She is now a ft CM. Here's one of the issues the ft/pt CMs have, and it's not the CP's fault.....Disney prefers to overuse the CPs. They don't have to worry about benefits for them. They generally get more hours than CMs. Many pt CMs have tried to pick up shifts, since they get so few hours. But it's near impossible nowadays. My dd sometimes gets only 30 hrs! And she's ft!!! Hard to make ends meet on those hours!!! Again, this in no fault of the CPs...Disney is completely to blame. So you have overworked and exhausted CPs, working alongside ft CMs, who's hours are getting cut back. Can you see the issues? Stupid Disney allows this to happen.
My dd's best friends are those she met on the job!!! She loves her job now, and is enjoying working with most of the CPs there. She tries to remember what it was like to be a CP! Even now, living with 3 other girls for the past year, she is having roommie issues!!!! And she knew these girls before moving in!!!
.....do you think that more females have a tougher time than males? :scratchin
 
.....do you think that more females have a tougher time than males? :scratchin
I think that just the female nature makes it a bit harder for girls. I think that for guys, it's an issue if they are really introverted. But I don't think they have the same inherent issues that girls have when living together. For some reason, girls can just be plain nasty and mean. They don't need much reason for it. It's almost as if they can sense the more introverted, slightly different girls and then go after them. I will say that my dd is a wonderful person, but she can be a bit 'different', always has been. And I realize that can be off-putting to others. She is also very introverted, so that adds to the problem. I just think girls will eat other girls alive, for very little reason. Don't get me wrong, there are mostly wonderful young women out there. All it takes are a few bad apples to make it miserable for others. Guys, for some reason, don't have these issues.
 
I can speak about my DDs experience as a CP from June (2018) to January (2019). She was in Patterson court and there were 6 of them in the room. The first couple of months were a natural feeling out process as they got to know each other, but once they got through that, it seemed to go well. I remember a particular facetime conversation that we were having with our daughter and her roommate (the girl she shared a room with) was talking and our DD was laughing at her, then when the conversation stopped, she gave us an incredible eye roll and whispered to us "she's so loud." When I say incredible eye roll, I mean an absolute top shelf eye roll that only a 21 year old can give. From about that time, though, all 6 of them became great friends. They had their text group during the CP program that they used to keep in contact if anyone needed a ride or was running late, and now it's called the ex-roommates text group that has stayed highly active. Now, this is not to say that they didn't have their moments. They did for sure, but they all talked about it, got over it, apologies were made and they went on with their lives. Her roommate actually extended her stay and got an apartment on her own after the program ended in January of this year. My daughter has visited her a couple of times this year. Our daughter wanted to stay, but that was a non starter with my wife and me as she graduates on Mothers Day and we made her come back for that. Working at Disney then not graduating with only a semester left was an absolute NO WAY for us, especially when we were footing the majority of the college bill.

Now, yesterday, at very long last, she got offered a year long internship at Disney. Like I said earlier, she'll graduate on Mother's Day, hang around home for a couple of weeks, then head down to Disney where she starts on June 15th. And, she's already got a place to live. She's going to live with her original roommate.
 
I can speak about my DDs experience as a CP from June (2018) to January (2019). She was in Patterson court and there were 6 of them in the room. The first couple of months were a natural feeling out process as they got to know each other, but once they got through that, it seemed to go well. I remember a particular facetime conversation that we were having with our daughter and her roommate (the girl she shared a room with) was talking and our DD was laughing at her, then when the conversation stopped, she gave us an incredible eye roll and whispered to us "she's so loud." When I say incredible eye roll, I mean an absolute top shelf eye roll that only a 21 year old can give. From about that time, though, all 6 of them became great friends. They had their text group during the CP program that they used to keep in contact if anyone needed a ride or was running late, and now it's called the ex-roommates text group that has stayed highly active. Now, this is not to say that they didn't have their moments. They did for sure, but they all talked about it, got over it, apologies were made and they went on with their lives. Her roommate actually extended her stay and got an apartment on her own after the program ended in January of this year. My daughter has visited her a couple of times this year. Our daughter wanted to stay, but that was a non starter with my wife and me as she graduates on Mothers Day and we made her come back for that. Working at Disney then not graduating with only a semester left was an absolute NO WAY for us, especially when we were footing the majority of the college bill.

Now, yesterday, at very long last, she got offered a year long internship at Disney. Like I said earlier, she'll graduate on Mother's Day, hang around home for a couple of weeks, then head down to Disney where she starts on June 15th. And, she's already got a place to live. She's going to live with her original roommate.
...*sniff* *sniff* :sad1:....I just LOVE a happy ending! :sad:
 
...and CONGRATS to your DD for getting accepted to the Internship program! :thumbsup2
 
....that's a tough one, I imagine - is she studying the culinary arts?

Totally missed this. No, she's a graphic design major. I think there are multiple factors at play... this is her first actual job so the reality of just being on your feet that much and the labor involved is a thing she's had to adjust to. Also her roommates come from the same place and though they didn't know one another prior to the program they both speak a language she does not to one another so she's kind of felt excluded from the get go. She's made some friends but they are in different positions and on very different schedules so she rarely gets to spend time with them. Hopefully she'll be able to view her experience more positively once she's out of it.
 
Our son just accepted Attractions position for next Spring and he is beyond excited. After reading through posts made on this thread over the past 12 or so months here is what I have gathered regarding questions we currently have:

He shouldn't stress about roommate situation
Arrive at least a day before checkin
Don't bring too many clothes as he really won't need many
Apartments seem to be furnished with most everything a college kid would need
Some bring cars some don't but seems to work ok either way
Don't plan on seeing him much after checkin

Couple of questions I have at this point.... Our daughter is going down later next spring with her school marching band. What type of discount (if any) is offered to him for family member park tickets? Will he have enough service time (or whatever is required) in April to qualify for some type of family discount?

Any other basic info we need that I have not asked would be welcome so I don't have to scroll through 160 pages in this thread (and most may be outdated anyway).

Thank you!!!
 
Our son just accepted Attractions position for next Spring and he is beyond excited. After reading through posts made on this thread over the past 12 or so months here is what I have gathered regarding questions we currently have:

He shouldn't stress about roommate situation
Arrive at least a day before checkin
Don't bring too many clothes as he really won't need many
Apartments seem to be furnished with most everything a college kid would need
Some bring cars some don't but seems to work ok either way
Don't plan on seeing him much after checkin

Couple of questions I have at this point.... Our daughter is going down later next spring with her school marching band. What type of discount (if any) is offered to him for family member park tickets? Will he have enough service time (or whatever is required) in April to qualify for some type of family discount?

Any other basic info we need that I have not asked would be welcome so I don't have to scroll through 160 pages in this thread (and most may be outdated anyway).

Thank you!!!
...because the room and restaurant discounts are so good, there isn't much of a ticket discount (I thought it was around 5%)....however, they earn Maingating privileges....they must complete Traditions before any kind of perks go into effect.
 

GET A DISNEY VACATION QUOTE

Dreams Unlimited Travel is committed to providing you with the very best vacation planning experience possible. Our Vacation Planners are experts and will share their honest advice to help you have a magical vacation.

Let us help you with your next Disney Vacation!





Top